Process of vinegar-making.



E KLEIN.

PROCESS OF VINEGAR MAKING.

APPLICATION FILED JAN- l2. l9l6.

Patented July 9, 1918.

4 SHEET$SHEET 1.

\H A TTOR/VEV E. KLEIN.

PROCESS OF VINEGAR MAKING.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 12. 191s.

Patented July 9, 1918.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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2 l I I I I l WIT/V588 A TTORA/EY E. KLEIN.

PROCESS OF VINEGAR MAKING.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. I2. 1916.

Patented July 9, 1918.

4 SHEETSSHEET 4-.

,4 TTOR/VEY rnocnss oF'vINEcAn-MAnme.

' Application filed iTanuary 12, 192l6. Serial No. 71,692.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, ERWIN KLEIN, a subject of the Emperor ofAustro-Hungary, residing at Peekskill, in the county of West- '5 chesterand State of -New York, have invented certain new and useful Improve Iments in Processes of Vinegar-Making, of

which the following is a specification, reference being had to the@accompanying 1c drawings.

larly to improvementsin -the Schutzenbach process of'making vinegar. -Asis well known to all persons skilled in this art, the Schutzenbachprocess of vinegar-making is car ried out by causing a fluid mixturecapable of undergoing acetlc fermentation (hereinaflutionpf heat and theheat thus developed by the change just referred to produces a sc draft(or chimney efi'ect), whereby freshair is caused to enter the generator.through air holes formedsinjhe bottom thereof and flow upwardly over themix Thus the m x is brought into contactwith. the counter- 35 'currentoffresh air, which is gradually deprived of much of its oxygen andisfinally discharged through'the'top of the generator as. spent air. TheSchut'zenbach process .herinbefore briefly described is imperfect in twoimportant directions or features, namely: i (1) The draft or chimneyfiect is dependent upon the difference between'the temperature of theexternal atmosphere and the temperatureexisting within the genera-v tor;and 2) the ascendin current of air j tilize. One object of thisinvention =is to providea process of makmg YlIlBgaQWhlCh will besusceptible of being so carried out and otherexternalconditions.'Anotherobfect of this invention is to standardize the conditionsunderwh h e V qg is mad Specifications! Letters Patent.

' i, This invention relates to improvements'ing processes of makingvinegar, and,part1cuincreases t-e tendency of t e. mix to vola as to beindependent of external conditions, suchas the temperature of theatmosphere I rawm nmnxr, or rEn sKiL L, NEW YORK.

Patented and therebyto diminish greatly the losses aul e, leis.

due to evaporation and to lncrease the yield of Vinegar and the generaleflicien'cy of the ,In the drawings illustrating the principle of thisinvention and the best mode now knfiwn to me of app'lying thatprinciple,

Figure 1 is an elevation, partly in section ,and somewhat diagrammaticin-character,

of a vinegar-makingplant arranged and dc signed to .carry out my newprocess; Fig. 2

is an'elevation, partly in section, of the generator; Fig. 3 is a planofthesame; Figs. 4,

5 and -6 are'sections on the lines 4- 1, 5 5

and 6- 6, respectively, of Fig. 2; Fig. 7 is a plan of one-ofthe-siphons with the cap removed; Fig.- 8 is a sectionon'the line 8 2-8of Fig.7; Figsi9 and 10 are sections onthe lines .99' and l010,"respectively, of Fig.-

8; Figs. l'land- 12 illustrate'in perspective" two shapes of the woodenbars orrails form ingthe falsebottoms of the compartments;

of recorders for recording the quantity of mix (or Wash) used and Figs.16 andl7 i illustrate different forms of thermo-regulator.

the pump 0 through thepipes d, e, f, g. Thepipe d extends or projects"above the pipe e,--:with which it communicates, and is connected withthe pipe d, so that any ex cess', surplus or overflow of themix maybeconducted by the pipe (1, back to the tank 6.

The pipe 9 has, in the form illustrated, three rhe mix (bi wash) isforced through the pipe at which discharges into the tank 6 from whichthe .mix is drawn and forced by 1Figs.'13,-14 and15illustratediiferentforms 5 outlets h e'achof which is controlled by a valve 2'.The mix (or wash) is, whenever necessary, cooled to a; certainpredetermined temperature in thefollowing manner: The

pipe 0 is surroundedv by a water-jacket j through which flows' waterthatis forced' "into the pipe k and led therefrom\ to the water-jacket j bythe water-pipes m, m.

The water is led from the water-jacket j by the'waterrpipes'n, n; the pie n; discharges into 1 the sewer (notshown A refrigerating. engine 0forces a refrigerating fluid through vthe-coil. 10 that is mounted 1nthe tank I; and serves to chill the mix (or wash) to any desiredpredetermined temperature before the mix is forced a to the generat0r Aby e We P loW the levelof which acidified liquid the pipe 9 extends.-.The air .is thus cleansed, sterilized and moistened. From the tank 1',the air is drawn through a pipe 8 by an aircompressor (showndiagrammatically at t) which forces the air through the pipe a that .10passes through the Water-j acket o and brineand through the latter tothe" sewer.

cooler '11:. The water-jacket o is fedby water that is led throughthepipes k, 00,-

and water flows from the water-jacket 4) through the pipe y to thevertical pipe n The j brine-cooler w is fed by a salt solution, that isforced through it by the refrigerating engine 0 the circulation of thebrine occurs through the pipes w, w". A damper 'u/ permits theflow ofairthrough the air-pipe a to be controlled.

' Beneath each outleth,-there is arranged an intermediate tank 2(Figs."( to 10) which is automatically emptied by a siphon .25 3. Themix flows from the annular space flows into the vertical passages 3*.The latter passages form thexlonger leg ofthesi V phon. The centralpassage 4 is filled by mix flowing through the horizontal passages 3" 2through the holes-2 in-the cap 2* and then upwardly through "the annularpassage 2", which forms one of the shorter legs of the siphon. From thepassage 2*, the mix and forms the other shorter leg of the si- -35 phon.The mix flows from thecentral passage 4 into-the vertical passages 3",.The .mix, flowing from these passages 3", drops uponthe curved surfaces5- of the pyram-' idal-shaped base 5, which supports the intermediatetank 2; These curved surfaces 5 serve to distribute the Wash or mix overthe T perforated distributing top or cover 6( The mix flows through theholes 7 therein down into the'upper compartment 8 which, like -thecompartments 8", 8", below it, is filled I with shavings 9, of wood orthe like. The floor-beams 10 support the false bottoms which 'are madeof the spaced wooden bars or strips 11 having the shape shown in Fig;

11; that is, these strips of wood are rounded .hear the bottom so thatthe lower face '11 is devoid" of *-corners to which drops of liquidmight adhere. An alternative wedge- .shaped form of strip is shown at 12in Fig.

'12 and may be used instead of the form shown at 1 The air-pipe u'discharges into a vertical -a1r-pipe-u from which lead thehorizontally-disposed air-pipes 13, 13, v13 conpipes 13,= 13, 13",respectively, and into these openings 14, 14f, 14, pro ect the ends ofthe spaced wooden bars '11 that form the trolled by the valves u. Thefront and back J walls A of the generator A- are formed with openings14, 14', 14f, opposite the air-.

false bottonis or floors of the compartments 8, 8', 8". The inside wallsof-the air-conduits 13, 13", 13 (that is, the walls thereof opposed tothe openings 14, 14, 14", respectively) are formed with apertures 13 thedegree of opening of which is controlled by slides 15, 15, 15",respectively, which regulate the flow ofthe air from the pipes 13, 13',13", through the opienings 13 into the Spaces 11 between the fioorstrips 11 and, therefore, into the several compartments of the generatorthrough these spaces 11*. "The position of each of the slides 15,15, 15,is separately controlled and, for this purpose, there is provided foreach slide a shaft 16 upon which+are mounted the gears 17, each of whichengages a rack 18 that is fastened to the slide. By turning one of theshafts Y 1 6,there will be moved that slide thatcarries the racks 18 inmesh with the gears 17 fast .upon the actuated shaft 16. The fresh airthat flows into the air-conduits 13" escapes,

ment 8", becomes spenfiand on leaving this lowermost compartment, thespent a1'r meets the fresh air that flows into the air-conduit 1'3 and,through the apertures 13 therein, issues therefrom and passes upwardlythrough the intermediate compartment 8'.

In its passage through this middle compart--,

ment 8 the mixture of fresh and spent air becomes more-and moreexhausted. of its oxygenyand upon issuing from the intermediatecompartment 8, the air current meets the. fresh air flowing from theair-- conduit 13 through the apertures 13 therein. This mixture of spentand fresh air flows upwardly through the-topmost compartment 8 and meetstherein the inflo'wing mix. The temperature of the latter is low, infact, so low as to condense the vapors that are carried by the aircurrent; and, by the condensationof these vapors, the loss due to evap-'oration is greatly reduced. As the mix progresses downwardly, it becomesless and less cool and soon is raised to a temperature at -which anoxidizing reaction takes place. From the compartment 8, the air flowsthrough the holes 7 in the perforated dis- 1 tributing top or cover 6and thence flows upwardly through the chimney 18 past the damper 19therein,

- and "thereby to facilitate the multiplication chimney 18, a fan ofacid-resisting material is rotatably mounted therein and is driven by acone-pulley 22 belt-connected with another cone-pulley '23 mounted upona shaft 24 that is \driven by a propeller 25 actuated by the flow of themix through the l pipe f. The action of the fan 20 is further- "more toreduce the pressure existing Within the generator A upon the vinegarmicrobes of the latter. The roof A ofthe generator A is kept cool by anannular sprinkler 26 'fed'by'water led through a pipe-27 that isconnected with the pipe m. The water flows from the sprinkler over theroofA of the eneratorA and into the gutters 23 that 7 disc arge,v intothe leader-29. In order to kee the generator compartments 8,8, 3", as eefrom atmospheric temperature m P fluenc'es as -possible, the outside ofthe walls A .of these compartments consists of heat-insulating coveringA". The inner side'of the walls A" are furthermore lined with anacid-proof material, which may be made of a fibrous substance combinedwith tar, asphalt and paraflin products; but it is to be understood thatany suitable acid-resisting lining may be used in carrying out thisinvention. Betweenfltghe acid-proof lining 30 and the heatins,ul ingcovering A", i there. are interposed boards 21.

In order to record the amount of mix that passes in a given timeinterval-through the siphon 3 shown in section in Fig. 8, a recordingmechanism may be used; and three different formsfofrecording-"mechanisms for this purpose are illustrated in V the drawings(Figs 13 to 15).. In Fig; 13,

one arm 31' of a spring-controlled bellcrank lever 31 projects into thepath of flow ofthe mix while the .other arm 31" of this i lever 31carries a marker 32. When no flow is taking place, the marker 32 is heldagainst therecordingdisk 33 by a spring 34;.but, when aflow ofthe'mixistaking place, the marker 32 will be withdrawn 1 r cm the face of thisdisk 33, which is driven In Fig. 14, an electric electric contacts 35,35', by'the mix when he same reaches the level of theelectric contact 35mounted in but insulated'from the wall of the intermediate tank '2; and

:the current flowing through this circuit energizes the magnets 36,which thereupon attract the armature 31 forming one arm of thebell-crank lever 31; and, when this armature 31' "is attracted, themarker 32 isjwithdrawn as before, from the face of the recording.disk-33. In Fig.' 15, there is,

-shown a float buoyed up by the mix in the intermediate tank 2 andconnected by'acord 38 with a rotatably mounted disk 39 to wh ch isconnected a Weigh 43.- The and the disk 39 carries a pivotally mountedpawl 40 one end of which is controlled'by a spring 40" and the other endor toe ofwhich'is arranged to" engage the teeth '44" of a ratchet-wheel44 on the same shaftv with which is mounted a pinion 45 that drives thetoothed wheels of the counter46.

A. stop '40 limits theupward throw of the. longer arm of the pawl 40under the action of the spring 40". As the level of the mix rises in theintermediate tank 2, the disk 39 is turned clockwiseby the pull of theWeight 43 hung from the disk 39;by the cord 43" a'nd the toe of the pawl40 engages the ratchet teeth 44 and turns the ratchet wheel44 and thepinion45. When the mix. is discharged fro'mfthe intermediate tank 2- bythe "siphon 3, the float 37 falls and turns the disk 39counter-clockwise and .winds up thereon'the cord 43 carrying the Weight43. During this-backward movement of the disk 39, the toe of the pawl'40 rides over the ratchet 43- without ,engaging the teeth 43' of thesame; and a guard-pawl 47 prevents any movement of the ratchet 43-duringthe retrograde movement of the disk 39. A spring 48 holds the. pawl 47against the stop 47.

In order to control with great nicety the temperature of the mixin thestorage tank I), there may be provided a thermo-regulator 49, thetemperature-controlled element'52 of which rojects into thetank band'theflowcontrol ing element 56 of which controls'the passage of therefrigerating fluid through the coil p from the refrigerating engine 0.In a manner entirely similar, the flow of the brine throughthe pipe omay be controlled by the thermo-regulator 50 and the temperature of theair flowing through the pipe u may beregulatefi with great accuracy. InFigs. 16 and 17, there are 'illustrated'two forms ofthermo-regulator'capable of use incarrying out this invention. In the form shown in Fig,16, the bulb 52 contains mercury 53 ontop of whichrests a liquid 54 oflow boiling point; that is, the boiling point of this liquid 54 ispractically the maximum' temperature permissible in the tank 6, so

that, when that temperature is reached therein, the liquid 54 will boiland its vaporwill increase the pressure in the bulb 52 to such: a'degreethat the mercury will be forced out of the bulb 52 and through theconduit 55. In the pipe 0', leading from the refrigerat ing machine 0 tothe coil p, there is mounted a slide-valve 56 formed with an opening 57andfhaving an upwardly-projecting 'arm 58.and a downwardly-extending legor post 59'around which there is coiled a spring; 60 that normallyforces the 'slide-valve 56 upwardly so that its opening 57 is thrown outi of register with the inlet end 0 of the pipe 0 from the refrigeratingmachine; but,

50 4 with advantage be used in efl'ecting this when the liquid 54 boilsand the mercury 53' is thereby forced through the conduit 55 and againstthe upper end of the arm 58, the pressure of themercury 58 forces theslidevalve 56 downwardly, until the opening 57 formed therein registerswith the inlet end i o of the pipe whereupon the refrigerating fluid isfree to flow therethrough from the refrigerating machine 0. When thisthe temperature 0 form of thermo-re ulator'is used to control the airflowing through the air-conduit u, the bulb 52 is mounted in thelatterand the slide-valve 56 controls the flow of the refrigerating fluidthrough the pipe w. I

In the form of thermo-regulatorshown in Fig. 17, the thermometer 61 ismounted in the tank 6 and the mercury 53 serves to complete theelectrical circuit between; the

contact-plates-62, 6.3, when the temperature,

thetank b has risen to thepermissible maximum. The electrical circuithaving been completed, current will flow therethrough from the dynamo 64and will drive the motor 65 which will, in turn, propel the centrifugalpump 66. 'This pump 66 will then draw the refrigerating fluid from themachineo through the pipe 0' -andwill force that fluid through the coil17. Or'the -dynamo 64 may be used to drive'the refrigerthe building onlyto be fed to the generator aga n without having its oxygen fullyreplenished' by mixing with the outer-atmosphe're.- The air is carefullytreated and thereby prepared for the reaction that takes placein thegenerator 5" thus, it'is cleansed, sterilized and moistened by beingsucked through acidulated' water in the tank 1" or filtered throughcotton orthe like and is brought tolexactly the proper temperature bycoolers o, w; a thermo-regulator may purpose. Moreoyer, if thetemperature .of

the outside air be already too low, heaters may be substituted for thecoolers o, w, of,

course. The mix is likewise brought to the proper temperature by-meansof the cooler y and coil p. The generator is divided vbyhorizontally-disposed false-bottoms into sections or compartments 8, 8',8", one above the other in a vertical'seriesthrough which" the mix isallowed to flow from the top to the bottom of the generator, The topmostcompar'tment 8 is used principally for the 'condensation of the vaporscarried by the aircurrent that flbwsupwardly and passes but through aflue-1s 'draft is. maintained in which an upward; by ,a fan 20 drivenby;

the inflowing mix. It is furthermore to be noted' that, while fresh airis led to each compartment separately and in quantities controlled byslides 15, 15, 15", that are moved independently of one another, all theairintroduced into the'generator eventually flows through the topmostsection where con-' densation of the vapors carriedby the air iseffected. ,The mix which flows into the lowermost compartment and hasalready been atleast in part oxidized meets there and is acted upon bythe absolutely fresh air supplied to that compartment, whereby the mixis fully oxidized and transformed into vinegar, when it isdrawn offthrough i i the outlet spigot 51. Not only is separate .controleflected,as has been hereinbefore explained, of thequantity of the fresh airadmittedto the several compartments but volume. of mix admitted to thegenerator and a record of the quantity of mix so suppliedisautomatically made, to the end that control is also effected by thevalves iof the accurate control thereof may be had. Again,

instead of supplyingthe mix by one siphoh of large capacity, severalsiphons 3 of small capacity are used and this arrangement re- I i mixover the surface of the perforated dissults in the more evendistribution of the tributin top or cover 6; andthe distribul ;tion of te mix thereover is made stillmore "even by the use of surfaces 5 of thepyramidal-shaped bases 5- that support the s1- phons 3-. The downwardflow of the mix through the, generator is facilitated by roundingv ofi'the lower edges of'the, strips 11 that make up the false-bottomsthatse'p arate the compartments and ofthe floorbeams 10 that support these"false-bottoms. To makethe reactions that take" lace within thegenerator-still more indepen ent oftemperature conditions externalthereto, and to make more complete the condensation of the vaporscarried upwardly-by the current of practically spent air, the roof A ofthe generator A iskept wetted by water flowing over the roof, while. thegenerator is in operation;- and the walls A of the latter are coveredwith a heat-insulating. mhterial A It may be further pointed out that,

starting, -which danger is present when the siphoni's one of largediameter.

As will be evident to all skilled in this art, changes ma be' madewithout departing from the spirit of this invention; thus, the airmaybe, passed through a filter of cotton, in addition to the tank 1" ofacidulated water and a nozzle discharging steam into the flue 18 may beused instead'of or in addition to tHe mix-controlled fan 20 f r c ea inga draft. Other hanges wi1 1 by using several siphons 3 of smallcapacity,

there is eliminated the danger of improper readily suggest themselvesand all such changes are deemed by me to be covered by the claims whichfollow hereinafter.

' I claim:v

1. A-step in the Schutzenbach process of vinegar-making, comprisingautomatically controlling the draft of spent air by the inflowing fluidmixture capable of undergoing acetic fermentation." I

2. A step in the Schutzenbach process of vinegar-making, comprisingcondensing in a generator by meansof the artificially precooledinflowing fluid -mixturecapable of undergoing acetic fermetation thevapors carried by the spent 3. A subprocess in the herein describedSchutzenbach process of vinegar-making, consisting in condensing in agenerator by means of the artificially; precooled inflowing the spentair, by introducing the precooled,

fluid mixture capable of undergoing acetic fermentation the vaporscarried by the spent air; and finally subjecting the mixture naltemperature of the generator by passing the precooled fresh airtherethrough in an ascending current; precooling the fluid mixturecapable of undergoing acetic fermentat on; and condensing the vaporscarried by mixture near the top of the generator.

6. A subprocess in the Schutzenbach process of vinegar-making,comprising precooling the fresh air; controlling the internaltemperatuieof the generator by passing the precooled fresh airtherethrough in an ascendin current; precooling the fluid mixture capaleof undergoing acetic fermentation; condensing the vapors carried bythe spent air, by introducing the precooled mixture near the top of thegenerator; and exhausting the spent air from the generator.

7. A, subprocess in the Schutz enbach process of vinegar-making,comprising precooling the fresh air; controlling the internaltemperature of the generator by pass ing the precooled'fresh airtherethrough in an ascending current; precooling the fluid mixturecapable of undergoing acetic fer mentation; condensing the vaporscarried by the spent air, by introducing the pre cooled mixture near thetop of the generator; and controlling the outflow of the spent. airbythe inflowing mixture.

8. A subprocess in the Schutzenbach process of vinegar-making,comprising artificially-cooling the generator by flowing portionsthereof with cold fluid; introducing near the top of the generator thefluid mixture capable of undergoing acetic fermentation; and condensingthe vapors carried by the spent air by bringing the same' into contactwith the cooled mixture and theartificially-cooled portions of thegenrator,

9. A subprocess in the Schutzenbach process of vinegar-making,comprising precooling the fresh air; regulating the' temperature towhich the latter is precooled; and controlling the internal temperatureof the generator by passing the precooled fresh air therethrough in anascending current.

l0.- A subprocess in the Schutzenbach process of vinegar-making,comprising precooling the fluid mixture capable of undergoing .acetic,fermentation; regulating the temperature to which the latter isprecooled; and condensing the vapors carried by the spent air, byintroducing the precooled mixture near the top of the generator.

Signed at Peekskill, N. Y.; this seventh day of January, 1916, in thepresence of the two undersigned Witnesses.

ERWIN KLEIN.

Witnesses OWEN MORAN,- A. KNIGHT. I

